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Amnesty International criticized Austria on Wednesday for allowing the chronic neglect of detainees in preventive detention, and also highlighted a lack of legal advice and inadequate care for asylum seekers.

In its annual report the human rights organization flagged up structural shortcomings in the juvenile prison and preventive detention systems.

In May, reports of the neglect of detainees prompted the Justice Minister to accelerate the planned reform of the preventive detention system for dangerous offenders.

Amnesty also criticized Austria’s asylum procedure - which often lasts several years. It said that the authorities failed to ensure effective and adequate access for all asylum-seekers to independent legal advice throughout the procedure.

In April, Austria launched a new humanitarian admission programme for 1,000 Syrian refugees from countries neighbouring Syria and committed to granting refugee status to all upon arrival.

Amnesty added that asylum-seekers’ access to adequate housing, social benefits and health care remained inadequate.

Conditions in some reception centres were reportedly poor and unhygienic and in some cases amounted to degrading treatment.